Which Shakey Head Mold

[Wvgasman]

I would like opinions on which Do-it shakey head mold you like the best, I see several options. I just want a good bait keeper and best design you all think is out there. I’m considering the shake it mold, but there’s also the Randy Howell, tip up, round head heavy hook, round head pro models.

Which do u prefer and please let me know why.

Thank you in Advance!

[Munkin]

Personally I like the football screw lock one but I normally only use the 1/8oz size.

Allen

[D.Moore]

Personally I like the football screw lock one but I normally only use the 1/8oz size.

Allen

This one for me as well because it will almost always be upright. The round heads, stand up and even the Randy Howell will fall over more often than not. Just my opinion.

[Wvgasman]

Thanks guy, I didn’t know people liked the screw locks so much!

[Jig_Man]

Thanks guy, I didn’t know people liked the screw locks so much!

I use Elaztech worms. Screw locks don’t work on them unless you burn a hole in the end of the worm.

[Munkin]

I use Elaztech worms. Screw locks don’t work on them unless you burn a hole in the end of the worm.

I can see you getting swarmed by the tweakers now standing in the parking lot trying to burn the end of a TRD with a lighter.

Allen

[Wvgasman]

LOL, I was planning on using them for Elastech. You guys have been very helpful

[Jig_Man]

LOL, I was planning on using them for Elastech. You guys have been very helpful

In order to get them to work I would get a small drill bit hot and run it up the end of the worm melting a channel for the screw lock. I carry several colors and would do some of each. For me it got to be more pain than gain so I made my own shaky head with legs to keep it standing up.

[DrewFlu33]

If you ream out the nose of an Elaztech bait with something--the point of a hook inserted past the barb and removed a few times works great--it's actually pretty easy to get them onto a screwlock. Once they're started they go on without too much trouble. The bigger problem I have with them is that they're so stretchy, the relatively more "parallel" angle of hook penetration (i.e., the hook runs more along the length of the bait than across it) means that hooking up becomes an issue since the hook can't easily tear through the bait and into the fish's mouth when you set the hook. Instead, when I'm throwing Elaztech baits I've always opted for the style of shakey head with the keeper on the shank of the hook so that you can rig it just like you would Texas rigging a straight shank hook. The hook point is angled more perpendicular that way and so penetrates out of the bait on the hook set much easier. An added bonus is the bait in general ends up oriented much more vertically so it stands up more than it would otherwise even if the jig head doesn't force it that way. I think another issue with a lot of the screwlock designs out there, especially the ones where the screwlock is fixed inside the head and cannot pivot, is that the screwlock eats up your hook bite. I've found that messes with my hookup percentages even on non-Elaztech baits. The tradeoff is that the screwlock styles don't snag up as easily, I think for the same reason. Just my $0.02 on it for what it's worth.

Sidenote that's tangentially related: I've also had some really costly fish misses trying to Texas rig Elaztech baits on EWGs. They'll ball up and you end up with no hook penetration on a hookset. The thicker the bait, the worse the problem. Regular offset worm hooks work better than most EWGs since the point isn't as shielded by the hook eye, but I'm always using a straight shank if I'm Texas rigging Elaztech to make sure I'm not missing fish. My hookup rates are near 100% in that case.